Having a seasonably scary item on your porch is one thing. Having it pop out and startle people passing by is another. Up your Halloween-decorating street cred with this simple prop.

It's simple in that you won't need to bring in a crew from Industrial Light and Magic, but you'll still need to be comfortable with power tools and some light electrical wiring to build the pop-up prop. When it comes to terrifying the neighborhood children, sometimes a weekend afternoon spend tinkering is worth it. Check out the video below to see it in action:

For a full parts list and a step by step guide, check out the full Instructables tutorial. As always, if you've got tips, tricks, or even a better way to do it, let's hear about it in the comments.